


The Truth Can't Hurt Us Now

by SilverOpals394



Series: The Words [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Adam Parrish, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22683283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverOpals394/pseuds/SilverOpals394
Summary: Adam knew that Ronan was in love with him, and that he was in love with Ronan. But they'd never said it. It was time to fix that.
Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: The Words [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700548
Comments: 11
Kudos: 203





	The Truth Can't Hurt Us Now

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from Christina Perri's song The Words.

The thing is, it really shouldn't have taken him this long to notice. But now that he had, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

He had known, from day one of this relationship with Ronan, that Ronan was in love with him. Probably before that, really. Because day one was not really day _one_. He didn't know exactly when Ronan had fallen in love with him, but it was long before they'd ever kissed. Ronan didn't do casual relationships. He did not pursue them without 100% certainty. He was all or nothing, and Adam had known that.

His own uncertainty about Ronan's feelings for him, back when he'd first really noticed the lingering stares followed by carefully practiced indifference, was more about his issues with his own worth rather than Ronan's ability to love. He knew Ronan could love, deeply and fiercely. Sometimes it felt like all Ronan _was_ was love. He was different than Adam that way. Adam, always cautious, controlled, keeping his cards close to his chest, and Ronan, laying his heart and soul bare, bleeding love from every pore.

So he had taken his time and carefully analyzed every look, every touch, every action. He was no fool, he could see that first kiss coming for miles. He just hadn't anticipated how it would make him feel, how _much_. How even if some part of him still thought he was unworthy, that kiss had made him realize just how much he _wanted_ Ronan Lynch's love.

And he wanted to deserve it. But it was more than that. If he were to be truly honest with himself, like Gansey had advised him, he didn't care if he deserved it or not as long as he could have it. And he badly wanted to return it, to give Ronan every piece of himself, and trust that Ronan would take those pieces and protect them. Cherish them.

So he did. And he took every piece of Ronan in return and handled them with the same care and attention. The same _love_.

So yes, Adam knew. But the thought struck him one day, a few months into their new relationship, that neither of them had ever said it out loud.

_Neither of them had ever said it out loud._

And suddenly, that felt important. It hadn't really, before. Because their actions said it all the time. It was in the way Adam held Ronan close as he finally let himself cry over his mother. It was in the way Ronan's eyes lit up and the small smile that appeared on his face whenever Adam showed up at the Barns unannounced. It was in every touch, every kiss, every embrace.

It was even in every fight. It was in the way that Adam knew Ronan had stopped aiming for the kill, the way he held back from his worst because he did not actually want to hurt him. He knew this because he did the same thing. Fighting was inevitable for them. It always had been, it always would be. They were boys built with anger inside of them that sometimes demanded to be let out. But the fights had become less vicious, a conscious awareness of how this was affecting the other always present. They couldn't help it if they fought. But they could stop the fights from being deadly.

Love was in everything they did. So why did saying it feel so big?

Adam knew that Ronan communicated almost entirely in body language, in actions. But that didn't mean words weren't important too. He knew that Ronan deserved to hear how much he was loved as much as he deserved to feel it. And he was starting to believe that _he_ deserved it too.

So he made up his mind. He was going to tell him. He was a little nervous about it, but that was only because he had never said those words before. Not when it mattered, at least.

There was no room in his mind for doubt that Ronan would say it back. He was certain about Ronan's love and how it made him feel. And now a big part of him thrilled at the thought of hearing it, too.

So Ronan's initial reaction threw him off for a second.

They were at the Barns, lazily making out on the couch like they'd done a million times before. Ronan sat with his spine wedged between the armrest and the back of the couch, twisted towards Adam, both hands cupping his cheeks, his thumbs gently tracing over Adam's cheekbones like they were the most precious things he'd ever touched.

Adam was practically in Ronan's lap, thighs and knees tangled together, his own hands carefully cradling the back of Ronan's head and neck as he trailed soft kisses in a path from Ronan's mouth down to his throat and back again.

It wasn't always like this. Sometimes, _most_ times if he thought about it, it was like a fire was burning inside both of them that neither wanted to put out. It was desire and _want_ and _need_ and _more, more, more_. And it was so good, so much.

This was good too, though. _So good_. This was the kind of softness he'd never, _ever_ experienced before Ronan. It was safety, and it was reassurance. It was _I've got you_. It was _I'll never hurt you_. It was _home, home, home_.

The utter tenderness of the moment hit Adam hard and he knew it was time. He had already followed Ronan's lead and laid his heart bare. This was nothing but an extension of that. Another way to say the things they were already saying. Another confirmation.

He pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against the other boy's.

“ _Ronan_ ,” he half-sighed before stealing another quick kiss.

Ronan chased his lips, slowly sucking Adam's bottom lip between his own. Reluctantly, he pulled away again, though he didn't go far. Ronan switched over to nuzzling his cheek, dropping small kisses to it, then on down to his neck.

“ _Ronan_ ,” he said again, this time with more purpose.

“Mm?” he answered, mouth wet and open against the sensitive skin underneath Adam's good ear.

Adam gently directed Ronan's face back up to his and looked into his eyes for a long moment before pressing their foreheads together again. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second and when he opened them he was met with Ronan's clear gaze barely an inch away from his own.

“I love you,” he said softly, but firmly.

Ronan stilled beneath him. Then his eyes closed and he twisted in his seat to rest his head against the back of the couch. For a moment he did not move and Adam's panic began to set in. How could he have been wrong about this? He'd thought... no, he had _known_ that this was the right thing. They were in love. He was sure of it. He—

“ _Adam_ ,” Ronan said in the softest voice he'd ever heard come out of his mouth, “ _Adam_ , God, I—”

“You don't have to say anything,” Adam rushed out in a single breath. He hadn’t even known he was going to say it until the words had already left his lips.

Ronan opened his eyes then. And he must have seen the worry written all over Adam's face because he furrowed his eyebrows and reached up to cradle his face in his strong hands.

“ _Adam_ ,” he said again in that soft voice. “Hey,” he continued, rubbing the crease from Adam’s brow, “I’m sorry if I freaked you out. I didn’t mean to, I just…” he trailed off, unable to find the words he wanted. “I have loved you for so long and there was a part of me that used to think that you’d never… that I’d never… and it’s so _stupid_ , God, I _knew_ you did, but hearing it, I don’t know, it—”

Adam cut him off with another kiss, all his fears gone, replaced with the certainty he’d had before.

“I get it,” he said against Ronan’s lips.

“I love you, Adam,” Ronan said against his, “I love you _so much_.”

And then it was Adam’s turn to absorb those words, but he did it by tucking himself as close as he could into Ronan. It wasn’t close enough. He wanted to crawl inside of him, as irrational as that was. But he contented himself by wrapping his arms around Ronan as tightly as he could, and felt Ronan’s arms hold him with the same tender ferocity.

He never wanted to let go. He didn’t think he ever would.


End file.
